Former Gleeson chief drafted in as firm set to concentrate on north

Troubled Inland Homes has announced the appointment of a new chief executive and signalled its intention to shift the focus of its business northwards which will trigger a rebrand.

In a series of changes announced today, the AIM-listed housebuilder has appointed former Gleeson boss, 75-year-old Jolyon Harrison, to the top role and agreed a £4m acquisition of West Yorkshire firm NorthCountry Homes.

Harrison revealed that plans to rebrand Inland “to reflect its focus on housebuilding in the north of England” will be detailed in due course. The group headquarters will remain in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.

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New boss Jolyon Harrison said Inland will rebrand to reflect its focus on northern England

Harrison, who holds a near 5% stake in Inland, is a veteran of the industry with more than 50 years of house building experience.

Announcing his appointment, Matthew Robinson, chair of Inland Homes, described him as “a proven leader, with a strong track record of operational, strategic and commercial success in construction and property development”.

A tumultuous last nine months has seen Inland’s co-founder Stephen Wicks step down last September and former Galliard boss Donagh O’Sullivan resign from the firm after just 41 days in the top role.

In June, the £181m turnover firm delayed the publication of annual results for the year to September 2022 for a third time. It has already said it is likely to report a pre-tax loss of more than £90m when it does finally issue its numbers.

As well as bringing in a new CEO, Inland has announced a series of board changes and revealed Harrison will set up his own executive team, including a new chief financial officer.

Inland’s current chief financial officer and acting chief executive officer, Nishith Malde, will now step down but will remain as a consultant for the next 12 months.

Harrison said: “We will be expanding the low-cost homes business model of NorthCountry in the North of England, based in Wakefield, taking advantage of low Northern land values and developing the Inland brownfield and strategic land business in the South where land values are high, as well as completing Inland’s existing construction commitments.”

The £4m deal for NorthCountry, in which Harrison is the executive chairman and majority shareholder, will be paid for in new shares.

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